Synchronized liquid feed control



Feb. 10, 1959 H. J. SOUCY v SYNCHRONIZED LIQUID FEED CONTROL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 14, 1957 INVENTOR HAROLD J. SOUCY ATTORNEY United States Patent SYNCHRONIZED LIQUID FEED CONTROL Harold J. Sou'cy, Worcester, Mass.

Application February 14, 1957, Serial No. 640,284

Claims. (Cl. 137-576) This invention relates to mechanism for successively feeding a liquid having one characteristic to a body of liquid of a diflerent kind.

An object of the invention is to provide means for controlling successively the admission ofv a certain liquid to another liquid of a different kind. and timing means for delivering the liquids in proper and desired sequences.

A more specific object is to provide in a washing operation, an automatic control of the admission of a fluid such as a bluing fluid and/ or a softening fluid to the washing or rinsing fluid in a washing machine.

A still further object is to provide a control valve which is operated in'proper sequence with other operations, the control valve delivering fluids of different kinds in succession to chambers in the feeding or fluid supplying operation.

Broadly, therefore, the object is to provide means for automatically adding a liquid or liquids to various other liquids and controlling the operation both as to the timing of the adding of the liquids and the amounts added and adapted for use with existing washing machine cycles or with new ones.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the description which follows and from the illustrations in the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the unit and its controls;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 2 but showing the valves in a different position; and

Fig. 4 is a skeleton view showing only the tank in which the valves operate.

In the drawings, numeral indicates broadly a tank and a solenoid unit mounted thereon. The tank is provided with horizontal partitions 11, 12 which divide the tank into three small chambers 13, 14 and 15, one above the other. The partitions have central openings 16, 17 and the bottom of the tank has an opening 18. A rod 19 extends up through the openings 16 and 17 and up through the top of the upper chamber. Secured to this rod are valve elements 20, 21 and 22 adapted to close respectively the openings 16, 1'7 and 18. As stated the rod 19 extends up through the top of the chamber 13 and is connected by a pin 23 to the lower end of an armature 24 of a solenoid 25. The solenoid 25 is mounted on a bracket 26 which is secured on the top of the tank 10. The unit 10 may be attached by brackets 27 to any suitable and convenient support, not shown.

The side of the unit 10 is provided with a filling tube 28, preferably flared at its top and this tube is connected to the lower chamber 15 for filling this chamber with a detergent solution. A filling opening 29 is provided in the top of or adjacent the top of the upper chamber 13 for filling it with a softening compound solution or a bluing water, as desired.

A spring 30 is positioned around the upper end of the rod 19 and engages under the top of the tank at one end and has its other end in engagement with the valve 20. The spring 30 normally holds the valve 20 seated so as yo i to close the opening 16 and also to hold the valve 22 over the opening 18 so as to close the bottom of the tank 15. At this time the valve 21 will be off the seat of the opening 16 so that the bottom of the tank 14 will be open. A pipe 31 connects the opening 18 with a wash tub 32 shown only in outline.

An air vent pipe 34 extends down through the top of the chamber 13 and has its lower end secured in a bushing 35, secured in the plate 11, separating the chambers 13 and 14. The pipe extends through an enlarged bushing 36 leaving a space 37 for escape of air around the pipe 34.

The solenoid 25 is energized by a cycle timing device 33 of known design on conventional Washing machines of the type with which the instant device will be used. When the solenoid 25 is deenergized, the parts will be in the position shown in Fig. 2 with the openings 16 and 18 in the bottoms of the upper and lower chambers 13 and 15 closed. The lower chamber 15 is then filled with detergent through the filling tube 28, either manually or by conventional and known automatically operated filling mechanism under the control of the timer 33. The chamber 13 is filled with a softening or bluing compound through the filling opening 29. Under control of the timer 33 the solenoid is then energized causing the armature 24 of the solenoid to pull up the rod 19 and this will lift the valves 20 and 22 to the position shown in Fig. 3 and permit the fluid to flow from the chamber 15 into the washer tub 32 and the liquid in the chamber 13 to flow into the central chamber 14, where it will be held since the valve 21 will close the opening 17. Upon further deenergization of the solenoid 26 the valve 21 will be lowered to permit the flow of liquid from the central chamber 14 through the opening 17 into the lower chamber 15 and subsequent energization of the solenoid will lift the valve 22 to. permit the flow of liquid from the chamber 15 through the pipe 31 into the washing chamber 32. The solenoid 25 may then be deenergized to position the moving parts as shown in Fig. 2 and the cycle repeated.

It is to be understood that various changes may be made in the arrangements of parts and the forms and specific details thereof without departing from the inventive concept embodied in the invention. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is limited only as called for in the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fluid system comprising, a fluid reservoir having partitions dividing it into upper, intermediate and lower u chambers, a port in the bottom of each chamber, valves controlling the ports, means for supplying fluid to the upper chamber, separate means for supplying a fluid of a difierent kind to the lower chamber, a valve stem connected to the said valves, the valves in the upper and the lower chamber seating downwardly upon their seats and the valve controlling the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber seating upwardly upon its seat to close the latter port, a solenoid for operating the valve stem, said solenoid when energized lifting the valve stem to close the valve for the bottom port of the intermediate chamber and when deenergized causing closing of the valve controlling the ports in the bottoms of the upper and the lower chambers, and a cyclic control for successively energizing the said solenoid.

2. A fluid system comprising, a reservoir having partitions dividing it into upper, intermediate and lower fluid chambers, ports in the bottoms of each of said chambers, valves for controlling said ports, the valves in the upper and the lower chambers seating downwardly upon their seats to close the ports and the valve controlling the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber seating upwardly to close the latter port, a valve stem connected to each of the said valves, a solenoid for operating said valve stem, resilient means engageable with the valve stem for normally moving it into position to close the ports in the lower chamber and the upper chamber and to open the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber.

3. A fluid control system comprising, a reservoir having horizontal partitions dividing it into upper, intermediate and lower fluidchambers, means for supplying a fluid of a difierent kind to the lower chamber, a port in the bottom of each chamber, a valve stem having valves thereon for closing the said ports, the valves for closing the ports in the bottoms of the upper and the lower chamhers closing downwardly upon their seats and the valve for closing the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber seating upwardly upon its seat to close the port, resilient means engageable with the valve stem to urge it downwardly to cause the valves in the upper and the lower chambers to seat over the ports and close them, a solenoid operatively connected with the valve stem to move it upwardly when energized to unseat the valves in the upper and the lower chambers and to close the valve controlling the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber and permit the fluid in the lower chamber to exhaust therefrom and to permit the fluid in the upper chamber to flow by gravity into the intermediate chamber and a cyclic control for intermittently energizing the solenoid to operate control of .the valves in desired sequence.

4. A fluid control system comprising, a fluid reservoir, a solenoid mounted on said reservoir, a cyclic control for successively energizing said solenoid, means for attaching said reservoir to a fixed support, horizontal partitions dividing said reservoir into upper, intermediate and lower chambers, a port in the bottom of each chamber, a valve stem having valves thereon adapted to close said ports, the valves in the upper and the lower chambers seating downwardly upon their seats and the valve controlling the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber seating upwardly upon its seat, a spring engageable with the valve stem and biased to hold the valves in the upper and lower chambers on their seats, means connecting the valve stem to said solenoid so that when the solenoid is energized the valve stem will be lifted, opening the valves in the bottoms of the upper and the lower chambers and closing the valve controlling the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber, thereby allowing the fluid in the bottom chamber to exhaust therefrom and the fluid in the upper chamber to pass into the intermediate chamher.

5. In a washing apparatus, a liquid reservoir having horizontal partitions dividing it into upper, intermediate and lower chambers, means for supplying a detergent into the lower chamber, means for supplying a rinsing or bluing solution into the upper chamber, a port in the bottom of each of said chambers, a valve stem having valves thereon adapted to close the said ports, the valves in the upper and the lower chambers seating downwardly upon their seats and the valve controlling the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber seating upwardly upon its seat, means for normally biasing the valve stem downwardly to seat the valves in the upper and the lower chambers and unseat the valve controlling the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber, a solenoid operatively connected to the said valve stem and when energized moving the valve stem against the tension of the biasing means to close the valve controlling the port in the bottom of the intermediate chamber and to open the valves in the bottoms of the upper and the lower cham- -bers and permit the liquid in the bottom chamber to exhaust therefrom and the liquid in the upper chamber to pass into the intermediate chamber and a cyclic control for energizing the solenoid sequentially.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,639,679 Zsoldos Aug. 23, 1927 1,694,421 Lentz Dec. 11, 1928 2,556,655 Lane June 12, 1951 

